A COMMUNITY PORTRAIT OF THE GREEN RIVER
1997
Green River Trail, Kent, WA
Concrete, bronze, milestone, stone, photo emulsion on tile
Kent Arts Commission
This artwork is located between a pedestrian/bicycle trail and the Green River lying deep in diked banks. The art acts as a marker, bench, and viewing platform for trail users. While quietly sitting along the edge of the river, the piece references both the natural and human stories of the river that so defines Kent. As with most urban rivers, there is a deep association with the natural river but awareness that it has also been irrevocably changed over a very short period of settlement.
The project had a community involvement component where Law gave a variety of individual citizens and groups pinhole cameras to take a single photo of their choice and composition. Other citizens made small cyanotype images while telling stories about the river. These images and stories were transferred to tiles and incorporated into the artwork.
